Away from Home
by TheGiftOfHeavenSun
Summary: He is a nomad, she is a settler, but their hearts are one.  KamijouToumaxMisakaMikoto


_**So hi, guys.. This is another piece of writing from me. The idea... I got if from my favorite author. Hope you like this. As usual, sorry if this is not good enough for your eyes...**_

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><p>Away from Home<p>

_Gone from the sight of her, but eternal always in her heart_

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><p>"You're leaving?"<p>

The words subconsciously slipped from her mouth when the sweet familiar scent of his dormitory room filled her nose, right when she caught the sight of him packing several clothes and tools in one corner of the room. Kamijou Touma and Misaka Mikoto were both high school students; the former was a senior, the latter was a freshman; and relationships were the last things in their minds.

"Yeah, I'll go for a while," he replied nonchalantly, and the assertion behind his composure was much adequate to snatch every intention to stop him. For the world of her, the hazel haired girl would never think that he left the city when the sakura flowers were blossoming; on the very first day she enrolled in a certain high school. The winter indeed was gone from her eye sight, but the bitterness of it was still memorable in her mind; the news she just received had just embittered her heart.

"Where?"

"Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Budapest, Berlin, Lyon, Southampton, Greenwich, Barcelona, and ten other cities that Levinia told me previously," he sighed. "Really, it can be another three months of absence. Frankly speaking, I don't know whether I can graduate from high school or not if this goes on."

She nodded weakly, thinking of the three months without him. Her mind simply traveled to the dimension where he disappeared… and she was alone with the eerie susurrations of howling winds from an unknown region. The days without him were blurry sights for her, and she never thought that it would happen. It was quite silly that two years ago; she would have just puked the aforementioned thought down to the nearest toilet, not even permitting it to invade her brain.

"I'll send you letter," he promised, sensing the blackness which lurked silently in the center of the previous white atmosphere. When he simply smiled, his smile was nothing less than a secret, and the Railgun got the weirdest feeling that he was already gone; even when he was right there in front of her. Maybe he had been gone for a while. Home wasn't in his dictionary and he never said it.

"No need. I'll be too busy to read it anyway," she answered, trying not to give any glory to the tingles of honest joy which crept inside the line of heart by words. For the most part, she was somehow glad that Mother Nature started losing its energy to illuminate the life and her face was half-shielded by the blur of shadow; or else, she would be ashamed down to the center of the earth because of the obstinate crimson color on her cheeks.

He chuckled for an unknown reason, giving a vague life to her heart and replied modestly. "I'll make the letter short."

She smiled.

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><p>Sometimes, she felt like the letter was too short.<p>

Short; a relative adjective word depended on one's point of view. Nevertheless, she was certain that a letter which consisted only of two sentences could be considered short by the humanity, except for those who lost their ability to see, exactly. The shortness was so absolute that she started picturing him as a man who was chased by the Four Horsemen of Apocalypse, writing a letter in the pursuit of those deities. She erased those unrealistic thoughts from her mind, reading the short letter once more, and placed them neatly in her cabinet.

The thought of him forgetting her never occurred in mind, because he kept his weekly routine to deliver another letter in the midst of whatever-he-was-doing. Each weekend means another letter and she always remembered to check her letter box at seven in the morning; eyes sparkled gleefully. She would spend two days writing back to her, crumpling paper after paper and throwing them into the bin when the letter didn't meet her standard. It was not rare that her letter cluttered with so many unnecessary details that her head span just by rereading it.

But still, she didn't stop hoping him to come back, even in the dream that was no better than any fragile illusion. The fragile illusion itself was permanent in her head, and Misaka Mikoto would never want to lose it.

Never…

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><p>"Now, where?"<p>

It was sad for her to know that he wouldn't stay for long with her. He was a nomad; she was a settler; it was quite ordinary for him to be away, traipsing each countries for the sake of goodness. Nevertheless, she was kind of stupefied to see him walking around the city (by her side) with a map in hands, just around two days after his return to Academy City. They were now sitting on the park's bench, feeding the pigeons, resuming the usual chit-chat that she really wanted, so desperately needed after his three months of absence.

"Caracas, Santiago, Santa Cruz, Rosaria, Iquitos, and other cities in Southern America. Levinia keeps me busy recently," he scratched his head, silently cursing his misfortune for being strangled in such condition. She framed this sight in her head, tucking it into her head, and permanently implanting it in her skull.

"Don't worry. You are a superhuman. You will never get tired," she chuckled at her own words, scattering another handful of bread crumbs and another flocks of pigeons happily assaulted them on the ground.

"Is that an insult?" he replied, looking at her smiling figure and silently figuring out the hidden meaning behind her words.

"Maybe…"

"You really are irritating, Misaka," he replied, even though a simple grin on his face was enough to tell her that what he said was nothing but mere jokes. They did this often, resulting another sparks of electricity that would only be dissipated by Imagine Breaker. Not this time though.

"It's an acquired talent."

The Goddess of Singlehood granted them silence as every word was gone with the stream of wind. In the world of her, her mind traveled to the future time, the time when he would be gone for another mission that perhaps took century. She missed him, understanding this only as affection, as longing, or something that could grow into love and maybe already was.

"Well… do you interested in souvenir or something? Maybe I'll buy local food and bring it here later, if you want," he offered.

"What do you want to get for me?" she responded, her tones were somehow challenging, adorned with slight curiosity of what things resided in his musing figure. "So?"

"…Tortilla?"

"That's from Mexico, it's not even included in Southern America," she sighed at his impudence. He was always a bold one, spouting something even though he appeared unable to be responsible of it, and the end would always be… different. But also, it could be something that she found attractive.

He smiled nervously, scratching his head which had become a subconscious habit for Kamijou Touma. "I'll get it if you want."

And four months seventeen days later, Kamijou Touma was back with a box of tortillas, gently offering it to the hazel haired girl.

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><p>The ferris wheel span.<p>

Misaka Mikoto and Kamijou Touma watched it from a distant, lying on the velvety carpet of green hue as the background of starry sky coddled their visions. They were both dating at the amusement park, right three days of his arrival to Academy City. Misaka Mikoto still denied the said truth though, emphasizing it to be another "accidental meeting" to Saten Ruiko and Uiharu Kazari whom they ran into each other previously. Ruiko just snickered, and Uiharu just smiled as a reply.

"I think I might fall for you," he said abruptly. So flat, not nervous at all, as though he had planned this for long. She froze at the sudden statement (confession), trying to regain her composure; her face was tinted with light red color.

She eventually found her courage, knowing fully that the one beside her should be someone who gave her warmth, not stutters. "I know that," she responded.

"What about you?" he demanded. Both of them still stayed at their own vigils as the sparkling stars were inside their line of vision. "What do you think of me?"

"Is that a question?"

"One that requires answer."

"You know that yourself. I know it,"

They paused, and the calm breeze showed its skill to cradle the soul of man to sleep. Nevertheless, the fact that their eyes softened in serenity was not because of the fondling of Mother Nature, but rather, because of the fact that they were inside each other's arm, braving the world of trials and tribulations together. All could happen because of a simple confession that changed the world of them.

"I'll be going in two days," he suddenly said.

She tried to ignore the stab inside her heart, not even caring to ask for his destination and other trivial things. "Promise me not to keep me in dark."

He nodded, and their hands joined without them knowing, as though it was something that they had been waiting for long…

… and they been really waiting for it.

And the ferris wheel watched, holding its silent vigil yet again the two lovers became one.

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><p>The next letter was a week after his departure. It was short, as usual, but the message was clear.<p>

_Hello, Misaka…_

_I miss Academy City, and I miss you (okay, mostly you). Meet me at the vending machine please?_

_Kamijou Touma._

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><p>When she arrived at the park, she found the spiky haired guy standing beside the vending machine; a bouquet of lavenders in his hand, and he smiled at her direction. He delivered this news in the midst of sunshine from above, when the wind was joyful and the sky was as blue as ever; when the nature was synonymous with fairy tale.<p>

"So, are you staying?"

"Yes…"

**End**


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